THE  TYPE    OF     THE   GRADUATE 
STUDENT 


RY 


JOHN  GRIER  HIBBEN 


LB237I 
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V 

APR   fi   1 

THE   TYPE    OF    THE    GRADUATE 
STUDENT 


BY 

JOHN  GRIER  HIBBEN 

PRESIDENT  OF  PRINCETON  UNIVERSITY 


A  PAPER 

READ  BEFORE  THE 

ASSOCIATION  OF  AMERICAN  UNIVERSITIES 

AT  THE 

UNIVERSITY  OF  ILLINOIS 

NOVEMBER  7,  1913 


THE  TYPE  OF  TPIE  GRADUATE  STUDENT 

In  the  development  of  the  species  of  any  organism  there 
is  always  a  typical  foiTn,  which  represents  the  prevailing 
tendencies  at  work  in  producing  and  maintaining  it.  Where 
purely  mechanical  forces  are  operative,  it  is  possible  to  pre- 
serve an  absolute  uniformity  of  type  with  no  variation  from 
a  completely  monotonous  product.  The  stamp  of  the 
machine  appears  on  every  article  of  its  unvarying  output. 
Where  there  are  living  forces,  however,  the  central  type 
maintains  its  characteristic  position  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
number  of  variations  from  it.  The  type  may  be  considered 
as  the  resultant  of  all  the  constant  forces  at  work  which  are 
conspiring  to  produce  it,  and  which  therefore  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  diagnostic  symptom  of  those  concealed  tenden- 
cies to  which  its  characteristic  features  are  due. 

The  graduate  student  develops  within  a  system  of  academic 
forces  which  exert  a  constant  influence  upon  his  ambition, 
his  idea  of  a  scholar's  vocation,  his  habits  of  study,  his 
methods  of  research,  and  thus  set  a  limit  to  his  possible 
attainment.  The  presence  of  a  marked  individuality  may 
transcend  the  influence  of  these  forces  and  enable  the  student 
to  manifest  a  superior  order  of  excellence.  It  is  also  true 
on  the  other  hand  that  variations  from  this  general  type 
may  manifest  themselves  in  an  opposite  way  and  show  an 
obvious  inferiority  of  attainment. 

The  question  naturally  suggests  itself  as  to  what,  in  the 
academic  world  to-day,  are  the  determining  forces  which  tend 
to  constitute  a  definite  type  of  graduate  student.  These 
forces  cannot  be  determined  by  any  biometric  method.  Their 
operation  produces  qualitative  rather  than  quantitative  dif- 
ferences— and  yet  it  is  quite  pertinent  to  inquire  concerning 
the  ground  of  these  qualitative  differences  which  give  char- 
acter to  the  type.     They  all  may  be  traced  back  to  a  single 


4  THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT 

source  in  the  expectation  which  prevails  in  university  circles 
of  a  certain  kind  of  work  which  the  graduate  student  must 
successfully  accomplish,  and  which  sets  a  programme  for  his 
studies  and  for  the  general  habit  of  his  life.  This  expecta- 
tion makes  prominent  the  necessity  of  the  graduate  student 
being  so  trained  in  the  line  of  his  specialty  that  he  will 
be  able  to  acquire  expert  knowledge  concerning  some  specif- 
ically defined  field  of  investigation,  and  thus  qualify  to 
speak  with  authority  concerning  the  things  he  knows.  In 
many  cases  of  course  the  graduate  student  is  looking  forward 
to  the  taking  of  his  doctor's  degree,  and  to  that  end  he  natur- 
ally bends  his  energies  to  accumulate  as  abundant  and 
valuable  material  as  possible  for  his  doctor's  dissertation.  In 
other  words,  he  has  a  special  field  of  work  before  him  and  a 
special  subject  within  the  special  field.  Everything  is  to  be 
sacrificed  for  his  peculiarly  intensive  labors. 

There  is  a  demand  also  in  certain  quarters  that  in  the 
pursuit  of  knowledge  within  this  limited  area  the  graduate 
student  should  give  evidence  of  some  aptitude  for  original 
discovery.  These  expectations  he  finds  in  the  very  atmos- 
phere about  him,  wherein  his  special  studies  are  to  be  pursued. 
This  determines  in  some  essential  sense  the  general  mode  of 
scholarly  procedure  and  the  general  nature  of  scholarly 
attainment.  The  type  is  largely  determined  by  the  influ- 
ences. It  is  of  course,  obvious  even  to  a  very  superficial 
inquirer,  that  the  type  thus  produced  has  its  conspicuous 
defects  and  limitations. 

The  restricted  field  of  investigation  demanding  an  intensity 
of  sustained  application  and  concentrated  attention  is  in 
itself  conducive  to  a  narrowing  of  interest,  to  a  limiting 
of  the  sources  of  knowledge,  and  a  circumscribing  of  the 
range  of  scholarly  ambition  and  appreciation.  The  very 
success,  moreover,  which  may  attend  the  special  inquirer  may 
lead  him  to  indulge  in  a  spirit  of  pedantry,  which  is  always 
to  be  regarded  as  a  symptom  of  defect  or  disease  in  scholar- 


THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT  5 

ship.  There  is  also  a  certain  Pharisaism  which  is  a  sure 
indication  of  superficial  attainment.  The  pharisaical  spirit 
which  indulges  in  the  complacent  contemplation  of  one's  own 
attainment  is  wholly  devoid  of  that  true  sense  of  proportion 
which  enables  a  man  rightly  to  view  his  own  knowledge  in 
reference  both  to  the  known  and  the  unknown.  There  is  also 
in  these  graduate  years  of  study  a  tendency  to  bring  about 
an  aloofness  of  scholarship,  a  detachment  from  the  world  of. 
human  affairs  and  activity,  and  a  dearth  of  human  sympa- 
thies. It  is  an  obvious  economic  loss  to  develop  the  mind  at 
the  sacrifice  of  the  man.  All  of  these  dangers  and  drawbacks 
incident  to  the  necessary  perfecting  of  oneself  in  his  specialty 
may  be  overcome  by  the  stronger  personalities  among  our 
graduate  students.  When  this  is  the  case  we  have  a  con-- 
spicuous  variation  from  the  type  which  we  all  admire. 

We  must  recognize,  however,  that  variations  from  the  type- 
do  not  necessarily  affect  the  stability  and  pennanency  of  the: 
type  itself,  nor  modify  its  salient  features.  There  is  always" 
the  possibility  of  the  appearance  of  extreme  cases,  and  yet 
the  type  withal  remains  the  same.  If  any  change  is  to  be 
brought  about  in  the  type  it  is  the  constant  and  central 
forces  in  operation  tending  to  produce  the  type  which  must 
themselves  experience  some  radical  modification.  Where  in> 
any  development  the  phenomenon  appears  which  is  known  as, 
progression  of  the  type,  there  is  always  a  tendency  among 
the  typical  forms  to  fashion  themselves  according  to  those 
extreme  cases  of  variation  which  show  essential  superiority. 
To  secure  a  true  progression  of  type  therefore  there  must 
be  some  modification  of  the  essential  determinants  among  the 
controlling  influences.  Naturally  progress  in  university 
experience  is  realized  only  when  a  progressive  type  can  be 
maintained.  The  question  suggests  itself  in  reference  to  the 
particular  subject  under  discussion, — How  is  it  possible  to 
secure  this  improvement  of  the  graduate  student  type?  The 
type  we  have  seen  is  due  in  general  to  the  expectation  whicl\ 


6  THE  TYPE  OP  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT 

has  been  created  in  the  university  world  as  to  the  kind  of 
excellence  which  is  in  demand.  Therefore,  if  it  is  possible 
to  create  an  atmosphere  of  expectation  as  regards  a  higher 
order  of  attainment,  influences  will  appear  and  prevail  which 
will  assure  the  progress  of  the  type. 

Towards  this  end  it  seems  to  me  that  we  who  have  the  re- 
sponsibility of  directing  the  studies  of  our  graduate  students 
should  insist  that  whatever  may  be  the  area  of  knowledge 
which  they  choose  for  their  special  field  of  investigation,  they 
should  learn  to  correlate  it  with  the  great  central  subject  of 
their  studies.  At  the  very  beginning  of  his  graduate  years 
the  student  should  understand  that  he  will  be  required  to 
interpret  the  results  of  his  research  in  the  light  of  the  whole 
body  of  knowledge.  He  should  never  forget  that  the  scholar 
is  not  the  collector  merely,  but  the  interpreter  of  knowledge 
as  well. 

This  expectation  we  can  enforce,  moreover,  by  a  very  care- 
ful endeavor  on  our  part  to  make  the  final  examination  of  a 
student  for  the  doctor's  degree  as  comprehensive  as  possible. 
Such  an  examination  should  test  the  student  upon  his  general 
knowledge  of  the  literature  of  his  subject,  of  its  historical 
development,  of  its  determining  laws  and  of  the  standards 
by  means  of  which  he  is  able  to  reach  a  discerning  judgment 
and  a  critical  estimate  of  all  that  pertains  to  its  essential 
significance.  The  supreme  test  of  the  skill  of  the  teacher 
is  his  ability  to  conduct  a  doctor's  examination  and  by  his 
questions  reveal  the  wealth  or  the  poverty  of  the  candidate's 
scholarly  resources ;  in  some  cases  the  poverty  or  the  wealth 
of  the  teacher's  resources  also.  It  would  be  well,  moreover, 
to  induce  the  student  to  choose  a  subject  for  his  doctor's 
dissertation  which  will  necessarily  compel  him,  in  order  to 
master  it,  to  make  excursions  far  afield  into  the  neighboring 
territories  of  knowledge. 

The  true  scholar  must  also  have  the  spirit  as  well  as  the 
letter  of  knowledge.     There  must  be  something  in  his  nature 


THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT  7 

that  will  respond  with  enthusiasm  to  the  unfolding  of  truth 
-in  its  infinitely  various  forms  before  his  inquiring  observa- 
tion.   There  should  be  such  an  appreciative  sense  of  its  value 
as  to   command  his   enthusiasm   and  devotion.      He   should 
possess,  also,  the  ability  to  relate  the  truth  he  discovers  to 
life  itself,  and  to  give  it  that  scope  and  play  in  his  experience 
which  will  exert  its  transforming  power  upon  life's  interests 
■and  activities.     There  are  some  subjects  it  is  true  which  will 
be  seen  to  bear  directly  upon  the  problems  of  living,  such  as 
the  study  of  social  and  political  conditions,  or  of  history,  or 
of  philosophy.    There  are  other  subjects,  however,  which  have 
only  an  indirect  reference  to  the  daily  problems  of  existence. 
But  no  truth  swings  entirely  clear  of  life,  and  any  body  of 
ideas,  however  abstract  and  seemingly  removed  from  concrete 
experience,  nevertheless  will  be  found  to  possess  a  transform- 
ing power  in   reference  to   the  mind  and  character   of  the 
scholar   who    entertains    them    as    his    familiar    companions. 
They  will  at  least  tend  to  quicken  the  thought  and  furnish 
the  mind  with  a  sensitized  surface  capable  of  receiving  upon 
it  the  impressions  of  the  human  world  from  whose  contact 
it  cannot  escape. 

In  those  elements  of  knowledge  which  are  merely  mechanical 
there  must  be  some  power  of  the  mind  to  organize  the  various 
items  of  fact  into  a  living  whole.  Where  there  is  life  there 
is  always  creative  power.  The  spirit  of  knowledge  eludes 
definition.  There  is  no  formula  which  expresses  or  explains 
it,  but  it  is  possible  for  a  university  to  create  the  expectation 
that  anyone  who  may  cherish  the  ambition  to  become  a 
scholar  should  early  in  his  career  give  evidence  that  for  him 
the  tree  of  knowledge  is  veritably  a  ti-ee  of  life. 

The  humanistic  strain  in  the  spirit  of  the  scholar  may  be 
produced  by  the  study  of  science  as  well  as  that  of  the  classics, 
or  of  philosophy  or  of  art.  Wherever  there  is  intellectual 
striving  an  expansion  of  the  mind  results.  This  in  itself 
should  normally  stimulate  human  sympathies  and  enlarge  the 


8  THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT 

range  of  human  interests,  for  this  mental  development  is 
chiefly  brought  about  through  contact  with  other  minds,  not 
only  of  one's  contemporaries  but  of  other  ages  and  of  other 
races.  This  should  create  a  sense  of  mutual  dependence  and 
thus  make  possible  a  true  brotherhood  of  scholarship. 

We  know  that  knowledge  is  power,  but  it  becomes  efficient 
power  only  when  one  has  learned  the  secret  of  applying  it  to 
the  concrete  experiences  of  life.  One  may  possess  a  whole 
world  of  knowledge  and  have  behind  him  a  world  of  experi- 
ence ;  but  if  this  world  is  detached  from  the  actual  conditions 
and  circumstances  of  life,  it  is  of  no  avail.  The  scholar  must 
acquire  not  only  knowledge,  but  also  wisdom,  which  is  the  art 
of  directing  knowledge  to  a  worthy  end.  One  must  learn  the 
secret  of  applying  his  knowledge  to  human  needs.  To  in- 
struct, to  persuade,  to  control  men  there  must  be  an  under- 
standing of  their  nature  and  disposition,  and  the  success  or 
failure  of  most  persons  will  be  determined  by  their  ability  to 
deal  with  men.  Whatever  may  be  one's  profession  or  calling, 
human  contacts  are  inevitable.  Even  the  most  technical 
branches  of  knowledge,  which  seem  far  remote  from  any  hu- 
man relation  or  significance  whatsoever,  are  not  free  from 
this  human  factor.  The  men  who  are  to  pursue  the  technical 
professions  after  their  studies  have  been  finished  are  pecul- 
iarly dependent  upon  their  knowledge  of  their  fellowmen. 
For  the  activities  of  their  daily  work  will  bring  them  in  close 
touch  with  the  human  elements  with  which  they  must  deal, 
and  which  they  must  learn  how  to  control  wisely  and 
efficiently. 

This  relation  of  the  graduate  student  to  the  human  condi- 
tions of  his  life's  work  is  peculiarly  significant  as  regards  the 
position  and  function  of  the  teacher.  It  is  of  imperative 
necessity  that  our  graduate  students  who  are  looking  forward 
to  the  profession  of  teaching  should  have  about  them  the  pos- 
sibilities of  daily  companionship.  Talent  may  be  developed 
in  secret,  but  character  only  in  the  stream  of  the  world,  as 
one  who  knew  well  the  possibilities  of  human  nature  has  so 


THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT  9 

profoundly  observed.  Surroundings  should  be  provided  which 
will  bring  together  in  one  common  life  men  of  various  tem- 
peraments, tastes  and  aptitudes,  whose  studies  lie  in  various 
fields  of  knowledge,  so  that  they  may  become  mutually  help- 
ful one  to  another  through  the  daily  commerce  of  thought. 

Again  the  graduate  student  should  be  led  by  all  the  influ- 
ences of  his  studies  to  such  a  reverence  for  the  might  and 
majesty  of  truth  that  he  will  himself  show  the  spirit  of 
humility  as  he  walks  within  the  courts  of  knowledge.  The 
scholar  should  possess  a  masterful  grasp  of  the  truth  and 
should  speak  with  the  voice  of  authority,  but  this  is  not  in- 
compatible with  a  docile  spirit.  Docility  is  the  necessary 
condition  of  progress  in  scholarship.  The  pride  of  scholarly 
attainment  is  as  deplorable  as  the  pride  of  material  possess- 
ion. The  intellectual  Pharisee  could  not  possibly  see  himself 
bulk  so  large  were  it  not  that  the  world  of  knowledge  appears 
to  him  so  exceedingly  small.  Whatever  superiority  a  man 
may  attain  on  account  of  his  scholarship  should  be  very 
humbly  and  reverently  devoted  to  the  enlightenment  of  his  less 
highly  favored  fellows.  If  he  feels  a  responsibility  for  the  use 
of  his  intellectual  powers,  he  will  not  waste  much  time  in  the 
fruitless  occupation  of  contemplating  and  admiring  them. 
He  will  then  recognize  the  truth  that  his  learning  is  not 
to  be  prostituted  in  the  vain  exploitation  of  himself,  but  in 
the  humble  service  of  the  world. 

Moreover,  in  the  pursuit  of  any  investigation  which  a 
graduate  student  undertakes,  he  should  have  clearly  before 
him  the  difference  between  discovery  and  rediscovery.  Too 
much  emphasis  has  been  put  upon  the  test  of  discovery  as 
regards  the  ability  of  the  special  research  student.  It  is  not 
absolutely  essential  that  in  the  studies  of  a  scholar  some  new 
discovery  should  be  made.  The  progress  of  scholarship  is 
often  along  the  lines  of  rediscovering  for  himself  that  which 
has  been  known  to  the  world  of  thought.  The  main  question, 
it  seems  to  me,  is  this, — Does  a  scholar's  research  furnish  a 


10  THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT 

new  centre  of  illumination  to  lighten  the  path  of  his  progress  ? 
Is  his  increasing  knowledge  a  lamp  to  his  feet?  It  is  too 
great  a  demand  upon  him  that  he  should  discover  an  absolutely 
new  light.  It  is  sufficient  in  many  cases  if  he  can  gain  a  new 
reflection  from  some  old  and  constant  source  of  illumination. 
Much  is  gained  when  the  student  has  learned  to  maintain 
his  independence  of  thought,  even  though  he  has  no  power 
of  original  production. 

We  hear  much  to-^day  of  the  demand  for  productive  schol- 
arship. Productive  scholarship,  however,  has  to  be  tested  by 
the  value  of  the  product.  It  is  not  sufficient  to  say  of  a  man's 
accomplishment  merely  that  it  is  a  work  well  done.  To  esti- 
mate it  at  its  full  value,  we  should  be  able  to  assure  ourselves 
also  that  it  is  worth  doing.  It  is  urged  that  in  the  search  after 
something  new  and  original,  whether  one  succeeds  or  not,  at 
least  habits  of  work,  devices  of  experimentation,  methods  of 
exact  scholarship,  are  acquired  and  can  be  acquired  only  in 
this  way.  This  is  all  true  and  the  spirit  of  research  should  be 
encouraged  in  every  way.  But  the  exclusive  desire  to  discover 
something  new  and  in  an  original  way  has  its  dangers  and 
often  leads  to  purely  mechanical  methods  of  investigation.  And 
our  studies  will  become  mechanical,  unless  we  bring  to  our 
task  a  richly  furnished  mind,  conversant  with  the  great 
thoughts  of  the  great  men  who  have  marked  out  the  boundar- 
ies and  have  built  the  highways  of  the  territory  embraced  by 
the  general  subject  which  we  are  investigating.  We  may  go 
into  the  byways  of  knowledge  and  push  our  inquiries  beyond 
the  frontiers,  blazing  a  trail  patiently  and  perseveringly  inta 
the  region  of  the  unknown ;  but  from  time  to  time  it  is  neces- 
sary to  seek  the  high  places,  whence  we  may  be  able  to  gain 
a  vision  of  those  widely  extending  fields,  which  have  already 
been  won  for  man's  knowledge  and  use. 

There  is  a  prevalent  fallacy  that  after  the  foundation  of 
general  knowledge  has  been  securely  grounded,  we  can  then 
give  our  whole  time  and  attention   to  building  the  super- 


THE  TYPE  OF  THE  GRADUATE  STUDENT  11 

structure  of  our  specialty,  and  that  questions  of  general 
knowledge  in  the  domain  of  our  subject  may  well  cease  to  in- 
terest us,  and  can  be  eliminated  from  our  thoughts  and  pur- 
suits. I  am  firmly  convinced  however  that  quite  the  opposite 
is  the  case, — that  we  can  only  satisfactorily  build  up  our  spec- 
ialty when  we  are  constantly  buttressing  it  by  our  growing 
knowledge  of  the  general  subject  in  which  our  specialty  falls. 
I  would  emphasize  this  point  particularly,  that  knowledge  is 
to  be  regarded  as  a  buttress  as  well  as  a  foundation.  Towards 
this  end  we  should  endeavor  to  impress  upon  the  graduate 
student  from  the  very  beginning  of  his  studies  the  necessity 
of  developing  the  complementary  powers  of  his  mind.  There 
should  be  an  endeavor  to  balance  the  faculty  of  penetration 
with  that  of  vision,  process  of  analysis  with  synthesis,  experi- 
ment with  theory,  fact  with  law,  and  the  knowledge  of  the 
particular  case  with  an  appreciation  of  its  universal  signifi- 
cance. True  scholarship  has  power  within  itself  to  correct  its 
own  limitations,  if  there  is  only  the  passion  for  knowledge 
and  the  unwearying  zeal  to  possess  it. 

The  one  whose  self-discipline  has  produced  a  finely  tem- 
pered intellect,  who  is  possessed  by  the  love  of  truth  and 
counts  no  sacrifice  too  great  in  pursuit  of  it,  who  keenly 
scents  the  source  of  explanation  in  the  concealed  cause,  who 
has  acquired  the  habit  of  accurate  observation  and  exact 
statement,  who  has  learned  the  secret  of  making  every  stream 
of  knowledge  tributary  to  his  particular  specialty,  who  is 
accustomed  to  reserve  his  judgment  until  he  is  able  to  see  the 
obverse  side  of  the  shield,  who  has  a  true  sense  of  values,  who 
knows  how  to  preserve  a  proper  balance  among  his  own 
mental  powers,  skilled  in  the  art  of  humanizing  knowledge 
and  breathing  upon  it  the  breath  of  life, — this  man  has  at- 
tained the  full  measure  of  the  stature  of  the  scholar. 


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LB2371.H62 

The  type  of  the  graduate  student ... :  a 


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